


Events on the Horizon

by stjarna



Series: The Horizon [1]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Cliffhanger, Close to Canon, F/M, Feels, FitzSimmons - Freeform, Gen, Hive, I also don't know Spanish so please blame Google Translate, I really have no idea about science so don't judge my science talk, Possible Character Death, Romance, Season 3 theories, Some Humor, canon compliant until episode 3.18
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-06
Updated: 2016-05-11
Packaged: 2018-06-06 19:35:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 8,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6767089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stjarna/pseuds/stjarna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Begins shortly after 3.18 (seriously shortly after...). My theories about how it all continues (The story will obviously deviate from what is actually happening on the show.). How will Simmons' and Fitz's relationship continue? Will they find a way to defeat Hive and save Daisy? Who will die? Will someone die?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The elevator doors open. Mack starts heading down the hallway. _Dang,_ he thinks. He had moved all of their equipment to the quinjet and Simmons still hadn’t been in touch to let him know that she and Fitz were on their way. What if Fitz hadn’t come back yet? What had happened to him at Radcliffe's lab? Mack had decided to head back to the hotel to check on things. 

His thoughts are racing; scenarios going through his head about what to do if Fitz hasn’t shown up yet. He stops in his tracks. Noises! _Focus, Mack! Focus!_ What was he hearing? Was Simmons being attacked? 

He slowly walks towards the door, slightly hunched over, his hand reaching for his gun, all senses on alert, listening carefully. What were those noises? Moaning. _Uh, jeez!_ He straightens up, tucks his gun back behind his back. _Seriously, guys? NOW?_ he thinks. Then he smiles. _They’re right. Now!_

He turns around and heads back to the quinjet.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beyond the event horizon.

They’re breathing heavily, their bodies sweaty, clinging to each other. Fitz slowly rolls off to the side. He feels a chill as the cold air from the air conditioning glides over his naked body. He looks at Jemma and sees goosebumps forming on her torso, but she doesn’t seem to notice the cold. She’s lying on her back, trying to catch her breath, staring at the ceiling with a smile on her face. He reaches for the ground next to the bed, fumbles around, and manages to pull the covers up which had fallen to the ground during… well… it. He draws the blanket over Jemma and himself and lies down on his side, his head propped up on his arm, facing her. She’s doing the same. 

For a while, they just stare into each other’s eyes. A gentle smile appears on her face. He can’t help but smile himself. 

“What?” he says, moving closer to her, putting his arm around her waist, caressing the small of her back. 

“Well, Dr. Fitz. What is your professional assessment of the situation?” She smirks. 

“My professional assessment? Right. You mean with my years of experience in this field?” 

She laughs. “Well?” she says more softly. 

He gently tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and looks straight into her eyes. “Crossing the event horizon is nothing compared to this! … In my professional opinion, that is.” 

She lets out a giggle, then looks back into his eyes. She sees his smile slowly fade away. “What’s wrong?” 

He takes a deep breath. “I saw Daisy.” 

Her eyes widen. 

“She took Radcliffe.” 

She closes her eyes and exhales sharply. _We’ve failed. Accomplished nothing,_ she thinks. 

“She almost killed me, Jemma. Used her powers against me.” 

Her eyes spring open at his words. “What? Fitz?” 

He interrupts her. “She said we should stop trying to save her. That she had finally found the family she’d always wanted. That we could stop pitying her.” 

“Pitying her? But we never…” 

“She warned me, Jemma. Said that she got another glimpse at the future and someone in S.H.I.E.L.D. was going to die.” 

Her breathing quickens. Her eyes are welling up. _It will be one of us, won’t it?_ she thinks, _Fitz was right. We’re cursed. Just when we finally get our act together. Finally take that step. Finally begin to be happy._ Her mind is racing, going from one terrible scenario to the next. 

“Jemma.” His voice is soft, just loud enough to get her attention. He knows what she’s doing. He knows what she’s thinking. Because the same thoughts have been running through his head since Daisy spewed out those words while forcing his body against the laboratory walls, taking away his last breath. 

“It won’t be you, Jemma!” He looks into her eyes as he says those words. 

“How would you know?”

“Because I won’t let it happen! I don’t care if I have to go against the laws of physics and mathematics and science and disprove the fourth dimension theory. If she saw your death, I won’t let it happen!” 

“Oh Fitz.” she sighs. Her voice has the slightly condescending tone she only uses when she thinks one of his theories is rubbish. “We’ve tried. We’ve tried before and it only proved that you were right. If she saw the future then _that’s_ the future.” 

“No. I won’t let it happen. _You’ve_ proven that the future _isn’t_ fixed. That we have choices.” 

She can’t quite follow. “What do you mean?” 

“You held my hand!” 

“Well, yes, and that’s _exactly_ what Daisy had seen. The future happened _exactly_ as Daisy had seen it.” 

“Yes. But _you_ made that choice, Jemma. You didn’t _have_ to hold my hand in that moment. There were _no_ external circumstances that warranted you holding my hand. You _chose_ to hold my hand. You _chose_ to make that part of Daisy’s vision a reality. You had the chance to change that part of the future but you chose not to.” 

She smiles as she hears those words. _He’s right._ She hadn’t wanted to change that part of the future. The only part of Daisy’s vision that was not dark and scary. 

“You’ve proven that the future isn’t fixed,” he repeats and she focuses back on his words, “and if Daisy saw _your_ death, I won’t let it happen. End of discussion!” 

Her eyes are watery, but she’s still smiling. Just for a moment. Then her face gets serious again. “What if she saw _yours_ , Fitz? What if she saw _your_ death and I _can’t_ change it?” 

“Then I’ll die.” He says it so calmly, matter-of-factly. 

She swallows hard. 

“But I’m not afraid of that, Jemma. You were right. We can’t waste any more time. And we stopped wasting time. And here I am, next to you, with you, and if I die, I’ll have had _everything_ I could ever have asked for. And you’re so much stronger than me. You’ll be fine without me.” 

She’s not content. “I want the future _I_ saw! On Maveth. Us, in a little cottage in Perthshire. I want _that_ future! Maybe I _could_ live without you, but I don’t _want_ to, Fitz!” 

He smiles at her. “Well, I’m not _planning_ on dying. That’s for sure!” He leans over, wipes a single tear away from her cheek, and kisses her. “Still thinking about Perthshire, eh?” he grins. 

She gives him a _Shut up_ look in return. 

“I’m sorry I ever brought up that whole curse-cosmos-is-against-us idea. I think I’ve given both of us a bad case of paranoia.” 

“That you have,” she laughs softly. “It’s going against _all_ my scientific believes and yet, here I am, worrying about your stupid curse nonsense!” 

“Then, let’s just stop, Jemma! Stop wasting time, stop worrying. _If_ one of us should be about to die, I want to make sure we make every moment we have count. Agreed?” 

She smiles: “That sounds like a rather advisable thing to do.” 

They kiss. Softly at first, then more intensely. 

Jemma begrudgingly pulls away. “We should probably try to get ready soon. Mack will be waiting. And we need to report back to the others about Radcliffe, Daisy, and Hive.” 

“Hive?” His eyes widen. “He was there, too?” 

She takes a deep breath. Slowly, she recounts everything that happened. How the guard had pulled her away from the lab, away from Fitz. How Hive showed up. How he talked to her, pretending to be Will, trying to convince her to follow him or give into him, or whatever it was that he wanted from her. She shivers as she tells Fitz about it. And he listens, patiently—as usual—not saying a word. 

“I could feel his breath on me. His hand on my cheek. I felt disgusted. I told him that he didn’t have the right to be Will. That Will was dead. And then I shot him.” 

She takes a deep breath. “And it actually startled him long enough to allow me to get away.” 

“You shot him?” he interrupts her. 

“Well, yes,” she replies, “Thank God, May had insisted on giving me that gun or who knows…” 

“You shot Hive?” 

“Yes, why are you…” 

“Where are your clothes?” 

“You mean the ones you took off me earlier?” She is confused. 

“Yes, your clothes, where are your… well, you’re right, that’s a dumb question to ask.” He scrambles to get out of bed, frantically picking up scattered pieces of clothing off the floor. 

“Fitz!” she exclaims. 

“What?” He straightens up, holding one of his socks in his hand. 

“You’re … naked.” 

“Well, yes.” he replies matter-of-factly, “That shouldn’t really come as a surprise right about now. What is…” 

“Well, we _just_ slept together for the first time and now you’re jumping out of bed – naked – looking for my clothes. I just don’t…” 

“You shot Hive!” he repeats, as if somehow that would explain his actions. 

She looks at him bewildered. 

“You shot Hive,” he repeats, “from a very, _very_ , **_very_** close distance!” 

All of a sudden she understands. 

She scrambles out of bed herself, rummaging through the scattered clothes on the floor. 

“You’re right,” she mutters, “He did bleed! Well, not bleed, but…” she’s trying to find an accurate descriptive word. “…ooze,” she finally comes up with. “If we can…” 

Fitz continues her sentence... “...find a fresh Hive specimen…”

“...on my clothes, we could use it…” 

“...to run some actual experiments using some actual...” 

“...Hive tissue rather than cells that he dispersed to infected inhumans.” 

They look at each other. 

“This whole naked thing is probably not the most hygienic considering that we are trying to obtain a Hive tissue sample.” Jemma says and briefly stops searching for her jacket. _Didn’t feel like there were this many pieces of clothing when we took them off,_ she thinks. 

Fitz responds, “Yeah, well, probably not, but at this point…” 

“You’re right. And it’s not like we even have a suitable evidence bag. Maybe we should call Mack so he could bring us…” 

“Nah, we’re good.” Fitz says, holding up a plastic evidence bag, which he had pulled from the black duffle bag he had with him earlier. 

_I forgot about that duffle bag_ , she thinks. _I was going to ask him about it._

“Where did you get that?” she asks, grabbing the plastic bag from him and using it to carefully pick up her jacket, which she has finally found at the bottom of the clothes pile. 

“Yeah, well. Once I had somewhat recovered from one of my best friends almost choking me to death and taking the _one_ scientist who we thought could maybe help us save her, I thought I should at least grab as much of the stuff from the lab as I could.” 

“You ransacked Radcliffe’s lab?” 

“Seemed like a smart thing to do at the time. Although I kinda wanted to get out of there. So I didn’t want to spend too much time on it. Which is why some of my choices may seem a bit… random… Like the empty evidence bag. Which _now_ , however, turns out to be quite useful.” he pauses briefly. “But I also grabbed some computer stuff, vials, anything that looked like it could help us back at the base.” 

She looks at him, amazed. It doesn’t surprise her, but it still amazes her. 

“That was quite brilliant, Dr. Fitz!” She walks over to him and kisses him. 

He pulls her closer and deepens the kiss; then pulls away, forces himself to pull away. “We really, _really_ should get going, right?” 

Part of him is hoping, she’ll say ‘No, we don’t have to.’ Part of him wishes they could just stay right there and forget the world around them and just well… that. 

“You’re right.” she sighs. 

_Damnit_ , he thinks. 

They look at each other and smile. 

_Another time!_ they both think. _There’ll be another time._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this chapter shortly after 3.18 aired and thus found it quite amusing that Jemma actually used "oozing" in 3.19 to describe what happened to Hive after she shot him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> FitzSimmons and Mack = The cute kind of embarrassing (to quote MashiarasDream)

“They’ll be here any minute.” Mack assures the pilot, who is anxious to head back to the base. 

_What the hell do I know, if it’s going to be any minute,_ he thinks. He’s happy for Fitz and Simmons, but, _man_ , they sure could speed things up just a little bit. It’s not like the entire fate of the planet might be hinging on it or anything. 

He hears footsteps on the ramp of the quinjet and turns around. 

“Finally!” he exclaims, “Where the hell have you been? A little heads up would have been nice!” 

Fitz struts up the ramp with wide, energetic steps, carrying a black duffle bag. 

_I don’t recognize that bag,_ Mack thinks. 

“Yeah, well, we had to do something important. And it couldn’t wait. Needed time.” Fitz says as he passes Mack. 

Simmons is right behind him. “Yes, and it wasn’t just the sex.” she blurts out “We also…” 

“WHAT. THE. HELL??” Fitz has stopped dead in his tracks and slowly turns around to face Simmons, giving her a _Did you seriously just say that?_ look. 

For a moment, all Simmons does is stare back at Fitz, realizing that her mouth had been faster than her brain. 

Mack is trying his hardest not to burst out laughing. 

“W…Well,” Simmons finally says, gesturing at Mack, “Well, he already knew anyways. Sort of. Well. To a certain extent.” 

“He… He… WHAT?” Fitz looks back and forth between the two. 

_Don’t laugh,_ Mack thinks, _Whatever you do, don’t laugh._

He clears his throat. “She’s right, Turbo. Wasn’t really a surprise. Come on! I’m happy for you guys.” 

“Yeah, well, maybe, but … I mean, we’ve just… well, we _just_ … for the first time… and now.” Fitz’s entire body is tensing up as he struggles for words. “It seems … personal and …special and …well, I just didn’t expect my very much _brandnew_ lovelife to be blurted out for the whole world to hear.” 

“Oh, please, Fitz!” There’s that slightly condescending tone again, the one that only she can use towards him and get away with it. “ _First_ of all: Mack is _hardly_ ‘the whole world’—no offense, Mack…” 

“None taken.” 

“…and as I said, he pretty much already knew. And _second_ of all, we said we won’t waste anymore time and that we would make every moment count and so it seems like a big _waste_ of time and energy to make a big deal out of me _accidentally_ blurting out that we’ve slept together, particularly since there seem to be more important things to worry about right now. And _lastly_ : You’re _eventually_ going to be able to actually _say_ that we’re having sex or are sleeping together rather than beating around the bush, right?” 

He stares at her. He’s trying to come up with a response. Anything, _anything_ that doesn’t make him feel like an idiot right about now. He knows she’s right, but, _man_ …. 

“So, alright, what else did you have to get done?” All Mack wants to do is ease the tension and re-focus, but somehow he can’t help himself and before he can stop it he hears himself adding “…besides sex.” 

_Oh, come on, Mack, that was unnecessary,_ he thinks to himself. 

Fitz gives him a death stare, then takes a deep breath. 

But Simmons grabs the straw she was just given, the opportunity to change the subject. “Well, it occurred to Fitz that since I had shot Hive from close distance that my clothes may actually have some … well… Hive residue on them. So we had to secure that evidence for further research, which was only possibly because Fitz had the presence of mind to grab as much equipment from the lab as he could after Daisy left with Radcliffe, including some evidence bags. And well, _now_ we need to get all of the evidence and equipment to the lab as fast as possible to see how it might help us to save Daisy and defeat Hive and…” 

“Wait, Daisy was there? And she took Radcliffe?” Mack finally found a moment to interrupt Simmon’s speech. _Man, it’s hard to stop her when she gets going,_ he thinks. 

“Yeah, well, Alicia took Radcliffe, while Daisy was busy trying to quake me to death.” Fitz throws in. 

“Wait, what?” is all Mack gets out.

“It’s a long story and I’d hate to relive it over and over again. So why don’t we save it until we’re at the base and I can tell it _once_ and have _everyone_ enjoy the worst part of my day.” an exhausted Fitz adds. 

The day certainly had one of the most amazing ups he’s ever experienced, but all-in-all, it really had been a load of shit.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Next step: Find a solution.

“Alright, Fitz, Simmons. Get on it.” His voice is stern, frustrated. 

“Go through _all_ of Radcliffe’s research and find a cure for Daisy and a way to destroy Hive and use that 3D scan of a hole in the ground and figure out what the object was that was lying there and why Hive wants it and by the way, me and May actually fell into that hole, destroying half the imprint, but you’ll figure it out. Just get on it! And while you’re at it, why don’t you just solve _every. bloody. problem_ I’ve ever had and do it in the next 15 minutes, will ‘ya…” 

“Fitz.” Her voice is soft, calming. He stops pacing and ranting and turns around to face her. Her head is tilted just a tad to the right, the slightest hint of a smile on her face. It’s all he needs to snap out of it. 

“I know you’re frustrated, Fitz.” 

_Frustrated? There’s an understatement,_ he thinks. 

“I know the director is asking a lot of us. I know we’ve been here for hours and haven’t made much…” He raises his eye brows. “okay, _any_ progress.” 

He turns around again, scoffs, ready to pace some more. 

She takes one step closer. “But, Fitz, letting our frustration get the better of us, is not going to solve it. Yes, he’s asking a lot of us, but whom else can he ask? Who else can solve this? It’s on us, Fitz. And I know we can do it. Daisy once said to me that… well… she thought we, by ourselves, were two brilliant scientists, but that she felt that when we worked together it was as if we were invincible.” 

He turns around. Calmer now. “She said that?” 

“Yes.” 

“When?” 

“When things were… well… rough between us. It was… girl talk. Anyways. Fitz, please, let’s try to do this. We _have_ to do this!” 

_I just want to help our friends. I’m tired of seeing our friends ripped apart._ He remembers her words. He takes a deep breath. 

“Okay, I’ll set up a program to run simulations on that half-ass 3D scan they gave us, to see what the computer comes up with,” he says, still somewhat begrudgingly. 

She smiles. “And _I_ will see if I can come up with some more tests to run on the Hive sample.” 

He smiles and starts walking to his desk. 

“…and by the way, Fitz, your Coulson impersonation has room for improvement,” she adds jokingly. 

He spins around. His facial expression says one word: _Really?_

But he can’t resist that smile and finally just chuckles and turns around to get working.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Late night at the lab

_God, it’s late._ Once again he was working on his bike and forgot the time. But at least it takes his mind off of all the shit that’s been going down. 

Mack walks down the hallway, headed for the shower, then finally headed for bed. He sees light in the lab. Instinctively he takes a peek inside and stops. He lets out a sigh. 

“You’ve got to be kiddin’ me!” he exclaims, startling the two scientists. “Do you have _any_ idea what time it is? Why the hell are you still up?” 

A brief moment of silence. 

“Umm, well,” Fitz is rubbing his neck with his right hand. Nervous almost. Deer-in-headlights look on his face. He’s not sure why, but he feels like a kid being caught playing in his room past bedtime. 

“Well,” Simmons chimes in, “well, Coulson made it _very_ clear that we should do _everything_ we can to …” 

“... save the whole bloody planet,” Fitz has regained his confidence… and his frustration. 

“Oh,” Mack sounds slightly more apologetic now. “I know you have a lot on your plates, but seriously, guys, you need to get rest, too. Helps clear your heads. Re-energize.” 

“Well, yes… maybe… but we can’t stop _now_ , we haven’t really made any progress.” Simmons explains. 

“You need to rest!” Mack insists. “I’m headed for the shower, and when I get back here, you _better_ be gone or I’ll drag you to your rooms myself!” He points his finger at both of them for emphasis. 

They just silently stare at him. He turns around and heads for the shower room. 

“Well,” Fitz is the first to speak, hands on his hips, “He’s got quite the nerve! I mean, he’s not asleep either. Talk about a hypocrite.” 

“So?” Simmons asks “What do we do now?” 

“Yeah, well. He was serious. Not exactly looking forward to being dragged to my room by a 7-foot giant with arms the size of my thighs.” 

“Well...,” Simmons says. 

Fitz knows that tone. She has an idea. He stares at here. _Spit it out_ , his eyes are saying. 

“Well, he only said that we shouldn’t be _here_ anymore when he comes back. What’s stopping us from…” 

“...taking our research with us.” Fitz picks up her train of thought.

“Exactly!” 

“I’ll grab Radcliffe’s computer. Maybe there’s something on it.” 

“I’ll grab the finished test results from the Hive sample.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even later at Jemma's room.

“Ugh, nothing. _Again!_ ” It is now up to Simmons to be frustrated. 

It’s been another hour at least. They’re sitting next to each other on her bed; both with laptops on their knees, staring at their screens. 

She turns her head slightly in his direction. “Have you found _anything_ on Radcliffe’s computer that could help us?” 

She’s almost begging, trying to will some kind of progress into reality. 

He rubs his face with both hands and takes a deep breath. 

“ _Nothing_ ,” he exhales sharply, “but his collection of Internet porn certainly has put a dent in my respect for him as a geneticist.” 

She looks up surprised and chuckles. 

She sighs. “Maybe Mack was right, Fitz. Maybe we need stop this for a while and re-focus.” 

She closes her laptop and puts it on her nightstand. Then she shifts her position to face him somewhat more directly. 

He looks up from his screen and at her. A soft smile appears on his face. He pats her knee with his right hand. 

“I’m not really tired, Jemma. I don’t think I could sleep now. But if you want to sleep, I’ll just go to my room.” He closes Radcliffe’s laptop and swings his legs off the bed to get up. 

“Well,” she begins. 

He stops mid-action, puts Radcliffe’s laptop on the nightstand and sits back down on the bed next to her. 

“I wasn’t thinking that we necessarily had to … _sleep_. Per se.” 

He looks at her, but doesn’t say anything. 

“I thought that maybe… well… _maybe_ we could… well…” 

“Jemma,” he says. She pauses to listen.

“You’re _eventually_ going to be able to just _say_ that you want to have sex rather than beating around the bush, right?” 

She laughs and gently slaps his arm in protest, then sits back with the slightest fake pout on her face; a face that nonetheless can’t hide a smile. 

_Touché_ , she thinks, _touché_. 

He has shifted his position to face her. Smiling, he begins stroking her upper arm. “If you _truly_ believe that having sex will help us regroup and solve every problem and every hurdle that has been put before us… Then that’s a theory I’m willing to explore further.” 

She smiles as he pulls her closer. Their faces inching closer. 

“Wait,” he pauses and pulls away from her again, “ _Please_ tell me that it wasn’t Radcliffe’s porn collection that gave you this idea?” 

“Oh, shut up, Fitz!” she rolls her eyes. 

He smiles. His eyes are locked onto hers as he moves closer again. 

Their faces so close now that both can see their own reflection in the other’s eyes. 

Still they pause before their lips close the final gap. 

Softly at first, barely touching, then opening up, inviting. 

Event horizon.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brainstorming

He wakes up. She’s lying next to him, sleeping on her stomach. He feels refreshed. 

_Sex, then sleep. Apparently not a bad combo,_ he thinks and looks at his watch. _Not that it was a lot of sleep._

He quietly sits up in bed and reaches for Radcliffe’s laptop. Accidentally, he knocks down a book that was lying on the nightstand. 

The sound of the book dropping to the floor, wakes her. She slowly opens her eyes and takes a deep breath. 

“I’m sorry. Didn’t mean to wake you.” he apologizes. 

“What time is it?” she asks sleepily but instead of waiting for a reply, she just grabs his wrist and twists it awkwardly so she can look at his watch.

 _Ouch,_ he thinks, but he doesn’t say anything. 

“Ugh,” she moans, “time to get back to work.” 

She sits up and rubs her eyes. The blanket has slipped off her torso and exposes her naked curves. 

_Well, that’s not distracting at all,_ Fitz thinks as he tries his hardest not to just stare at her beauty. 

As if she had read his mind, she reaches for her sweater on the ground and puts it on. 

“So, where did we leave off last night?” she asks, trying to get back into problem solving mode. 

“With a lot of frustration and no answers?” Fitz replies. 

“Right,” she sighs, “well, _that’s_ not going to help us now, is it?” 

Fitz rubs his face. “Not really. Maybe we’ve been looking in one direction for too long.” 

“You think we should try to find a completely different approach?” she asks. 

“Yes… maybe… So, what do we know? Hive’s…” 

“…evil” is her only response. 

“Yes,” Fitz tries to come up with more useful Hive-facts. “…and he kills humans in the most _disgusting_ way imaginable, and can possess dead humans and retain all their memories, and can control inhumans.” 

“Wait.” Simmons straightens up. 

“What?” 

“He kills humans, but controls inhumans.” 

“I just said that, didn’t I?” Fitz replies somewhat confused.

“Malick’s report. He said that Hive doesn’t feed on inhumans. He doesn’t _kill_ inhumans.” 

“I’m not sure I get your point.” 

“What if his powers are mutually exclusive? He can’t _kill_ inhumans and he can’t _control_ humans…unless they’re dead.” 

She looks at him. She knows he can reach the same conclusion she reached. She doesn’t need to spit it out for him. 

His eyes finally open wide. 

“It’s worth a shot!” he exclaims.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The plan

“You want to do _what?_ ” The director barely understood half of their scientific explanation but he’s pretty sure he understood their final suggestion although he can’t believe they’re serious. 

“We realize it’s a risky proposition, Sir,” Simmons pleas. 

“But so far it’s the best … no, actually the _only_ shot we have.” Fitz adds. “We have run several tests and simulations, _all_ with a positive outcome.” 

“But you’re plan has a gigantic blind spot to which no simulation can give us an answer,” Coulson says. 

“That is correct, Sir.” Simmons acknowledges begrudgingly, then adds, “but as Fitz said, it’s our best and possibly _only_ solution.” 

Coulson sighs. He can’t believe he’s about to go forward with this. 

He presses the button to the comms “May, Lincoln, to my office. _Now._ … please.” 

_‘Please’ is the least I can say, considering what I’m about to ask of them._ , he thinks.

\-------------------------

“Simmons and Fitz may have come up with a solution that could bring us closer to rescuing Daisy and the other inhumans under Hive’s control.” Coulson begins once May and Lincoln have arrived. 

“Great! What is it?” Lincoln exclaims excitedly, but May noticed the tone in Coulson’s voice.

“You may want to wait and hear what their solution _is_ before you get excited,” she says coldly. 

Coulson looks at her. She saw right through him, as usual. 

“Fitz. Simmons.” Coulson gestures to the two scientists to begin their briefing.

“Well,” Simmons starts, “Malick’s report stated that Hive cannot feed off inhumans. That he cannot _kill_ them. Whereas—as we’ve all seen by now—he has _no_ problem killing _humans_.” 

Various images of the skeletons Hive has left behind appear on the main screen in Coulson’s office. 

“Do we _really_ need a reminder of that?” May states annoyed. 

Simmons ignores her comment. “On the other hand, with the exception of _dead_ humans, Hive does not seem to be able to control humans in the way he controls _inhumans_.” 

“It occurred to us,” Fitz picks up their presentation “that it is possible that his powers are mutually exclusive, so to speak.”

“So?” May’s too frustrated to be patient. _Get to the point,_ she thinks. 

“ _So,_ ” Fitz continues, “we tried to figure out what Hive’s powers would allow him to do if he encountered a human/inhuman combo… for lack of a better word.” 

“Combo?” May still doesn’t get it, but she’s intrigued. 

Simmons picks up where Fitz left off. 

An image of Creel appears on the screen. “Creel is human; an _enhanced_ human, but _human_ nonetheless. Yet, unlike any other human we have encountered, he survived touching the alien metal that shields the terrigen crystals. My research has, furthermore, shown that if Creel’s blood is mixed with blood that features the genetic inhuman marker but has _not_ gone through terrigenesis, the inhuman marker is neutralized, rendering the person… human.” 

“The vaccine you gave Andrew?” May tries to confirm. 

“Yes,” Simmons replies, “and while administering the vaccine to Dr. Garner did, unfortunately, not have the desired effect of reversing his terrigenesis, it, nonetheless, appears to have had a permanent changing effect on his blood and immune system.” 

“How does this help us with Daisy?” Lincoln is getting impatient as well. 

“We have run several tests using the Hive sample we were able to collect from my clothes to see how inhuman blood—Joey’s, Elena’s, yours and Daisy’s to be precise—reacts to it. The results of the tests and simulations were always the same. The organisms that Hive is made up of, basically act like a drug, making whoever is infected a willing slave to him.” 

Lincoln interrupts her. “Yes, you’ve explained all of that before. I thought Radcliffe would have the answer to that?” 

“Yes, well,” Fitz interjects, “but unfortunately Hive, Daisy, Alicia, _whoever_ , took Radcliffe, leaving it up to _us_ to come up with a _new_ solution. Which we did. So, just let us finish, okay?” 

Lincoln raises his hands in defeat and leans against the desk and crosses his arms in front of his chest. His eyes are glaring. 

“Thank you, Fitz.” Simmons continues, “As I said, _all_ tests and simulations on inhuman blood gave the same results. _Until_ we used Lash’s blood.” 

“Andrew?” May straightens up. 

“Yes, Dr. Garner’s, well, Lash’s blood rejected the Hive organisms.” 

“Creel’s blood made him immune to Hive?” Lincoln asks nervously. It’s a hopeful nervousness. 

“That’s what the test results suggested. So we added Creel’s blood to samples of Elena's, Joey's, yours, and Daisy’s blood and infected it with Hive… with the _same_ result.” 

“What about…” Lincoln tries to get a question in, but Fitz answers before he gets a chance. 

“Yes, we also exposed your blood to Hive, _then_ added Creel’s blood and the effect was reversed; Creel’s blood neutralized the Hive organisms.” 

“Basically, Creel’s blood holds the key to a vaccine as well as an antidote.”

“Fantastic! So we can stop Hive from swaying more inhumans, save Daisy and the other affected inhumans, leave Hive without an army, and defeat him.”

“Hold your horses,” May tells Lincoln sternly. She turns to Fitz and Simmons. “What's the catch?” 

Fitz and Simmons exchange looks with each other. 

“The antidote needs to be administered subcutaneously. There’s no way to make it airborne.” Fitz begins to explain, but Coulson interrupts him.

“The catch is that we need an inhuman Trojan horse who can spread the antidote among the infected inhumans under Hive’s control. The catch is that Hive might notice _immediately_ that he has _no_ effect on our Trojan horse. The catch is that while _he_ may not be able to kill inhumans, the inhumans under his control don’t seem to have the same problem. Alicia killed herself, for crying out loud. If Hive notices what’s going on _before_ we can be sure that his army is no longer under his control or at least weakened, we’re looking at the possibility of a _dead_ Trojan horse and no other options. The catch is that this could be a one-way mission. The catch is that even if this _all_ works, we _still_ haven’t found a way to successfully defeat Hive. It’s winning a battle, at best. Not winning the war.” 

Lincoln pushes away from the desk he has been leaning against. 

“I’ll do it! And don’t talk to me about risks or any such crap because you wouldn’t have called me in here in the first place if you didn’t already know that _I_ would be your Trojan horse. It may only be a battle, but it is a battle we _have_ to win.” 

“I’ll be there for backup,” May throws in, “Trojan horse and cavalry. Seems to make a good pair.” 

She can’t believe herself that she just said that.

“Well,” Simmons hesitates at first, then finishes her sentence. “We might want more than just _one_ Trojan horse.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mack's nervous.

“Are you really sure about this?” He rushes after her out of the briefing room. His voice is anxious.

“Yes, Mack. These are my people. Daisy is my friend. I can help them.” Her accent might still be very noticeable, but her English has improved in record time.

“I’m just not sure you understand what you’re getting yourself into, Yo-Y…” she glares at him and he immediately realizes his mistake. “Elena.”

“No, Mack. I understand _very_ well. Simmons, Fitz and Coulson have explained everything _very_ well. The antidote must be given _subcutáneamente_ , under the skin. I _know_ the risks, but they are risks I can take. And the plan sounds good… solid… The antidote contains the …” she struggles to remember the term Simmons used “…dendrotoxin. Once the antidote works, the dendrotoxin will work and take them out. Lincoln cannot do this alone. But together we can. _El caballo de Troya_. Trojan horse. Stop worrying about me. I can take care of myself!”

 _I’m more worried about myself than you, Yo-Yo_ , he thinks to himself. _I’m not sure if I can handle losing another person I care about._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Native Spanish speakers: Please, feel free to correct my Spanish! Please!
> 
> Update 2016-05-11: I just watch 3.20 ... seriously, people, I wrote and posted this chapter before the episode aired. Last sentence of the chapter was purely my own writing. Apparently I think more like an AoS writer than I realize.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lincoln's nervous.

He takes a deep breath as the car that dropped them off leaves the perimeter. He looks around. His body is tense.

“You are nervous?” Elena asks.

“Yeah, well,” Lincoln admits, “Things haven’t exactly been going according to plan lately.”

“We’re in this together.” She looks reassuringly at Lincoln. “They’re watching us.” She glances up to the sky. 

Somewhere up there is the cloaked Zephyr with May at the helm. 

“And _He_ ’s watching us.” She raises her hand and gently taps the golden cross around her neck.

“Yeah, _He_ hasn’t done much for me over the years, but I’ll put my trust in you and those guys.” 

“ _He_ ’ll watch over you in any case,” she smiles. “Now, let’s go.”

He nods and starts marching toward the city where Hive and the inhumans are hiding in plain sight.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The inhuman welcome party.

“Whoa, mate! Where do you think _you’re_ goin’?”

Lincoln takes a deep breath as his anger rises at the mere sight of the tall, muscly Aussie. 

“I want to talk to Daisy,” he mutters through his teeth.

“Awww, Sparkles. Dunno! I think our little collective here, with Hive, the master, and well… _moi_ ,” he arrogantly gestures at himself, “has more to offer to her then you’re sad little puppy eyes. And from the looks of it, ‘ya got yourself a sweet new sidekick already, so what’s the rush?”

Elena only glares at James. _¿Compañero?_ she thinks. _Sólo espera y mira._

Lincoln clenches his fists. The familiar sensation of electric sparks forming between his fingers; his entire body, every cell charging. 

“I want. To talk. To Daisy.” He emphasizes every part of that sentence. “So, you either get out of my way and make things _easy_ for yourself. Or you _don’t_ get out of my way and make things _painful_.”

“Oh mate,” Hellfire glares at Lincoln with a crooked grin on his face, happy to accept the challenge. His hands begin to shimmer red and fiery. 

“James! Stop it!” Daisy’s voice cuts through the tension like a knife, diffuses the situation.

Hellfire’s body relaxes. He raises his hands and takes a few steps back. “He’s all yours, jitterbug.”

“Lincoln!” Daisy walks straight up to Lincoln, only then does she notice Elena. “Elena? What are you doing here?”

Lincoln is furious. Seeing Daisy; standing right in front of her; knowing that she’s under Hive’s control, that she betrayed him, tried to kill their friends. He needs to focus. Remember why they’re here: To win the battle. 

_Time to put on your sad puppy eyes_ , Lincoln thinks, echoing James’ words. 

“We’re here to join you.” Elena, noticing Lincoln’s hesitation, jumps in, gets the conversation going. “We cannot trust them. The way they treated us has proven that. I won’t be part of their attempt to keep us in check and eliminate us.”

“She’s right,” Lincoln has snapped out of his daze and is back on script; back to what they’ve rehearsed over and over again. “I’ve had it with S.H.I.E.L.D. You were right. We can only rely on each other. _Us_. _Inhumans!_ They fear us. They want to index us, keep us under control, do their bidding as they see fit. We can’t trust them. _None_ of them. Coulson made me wear a _kill-vest_! To go off if I acted up. That was the last straw for me. I just needed an opportunity to get away from them. Elena helped me once she got back from the Cocoon. I just want to be with _you_ , Daisy! We belong together. I want to feel the connection you have. With everyone. With _him_.” 

He gestures towards Hive, who has come out of one of the houses, walking towards them slowly, his hands behind his back, his head slightly tilted, his eyes glaring, questioning. 

The slightest hint of a smile has appeared on Daisy’s face as she heard what Elena and Lincoln had to say. 

She walks toward Hive and tells him the news. “They’re here to join us.”

“Is that so?” His monotone voice is calm, dark, and dangerous. He looks intently at the two visitors, assessing them.

“Yes,” Lincoln steps forward to face Hive directly. “I’m ready. I want to feel what _she’s_ feeling, think what _she’s_ thinking. Make me a believer!” He looks straight into Hive’s eyes.

Hive holds the glare for several seconds, then blinks once as his head shifts slightly to the left to look at Elena. “How about _you_?”

Elena looks directly at the mighty inhuman. No sign of fear on her face as she replies “I was ready before _he_ was.”

He holds her gaze. Pauses.

“Well then,” Hive says calmly. He takes several steps back to bring some distance between himself and Lincoln and Elena, then turns towards Daisy. “Bring everyone here to witness how our family is growing stronger.”

Daisy smiles, and runs towards the houses. She quickly returns with the other inhumans in tow. Lincoln counts fourteen. He exchanges looks with Elena. 

_The stuff better work as quickly as Simmons said,_ he thinks.

The inhumans form a half-circle behind Hive, who is facing Elena and Lincoln. 

Lincoln is half-expecting a “Dearly beloved. We are gathered here today on this joyous day…” speech, but apparently Hive thinks words are unnecessary. He simply stretches out his arms, pointing one hand at each of the two visitors. His hands disintegrate as thousands of organisms leave Ward’s body and swarm toward Lincoln and Elena.

“ _¡Dios mío!_ ” The words are quietly mumbled. Only she herself can hear them.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After-swaying-party

She closes her eyes instinctively, as the Hive swarm rushes towards her.

She feels the organisms touching her face, penetrating her skin, like thousands of little needles entering her skull at the same time.

She holds her breath. It feels like her entire head is buzzing. Her ears are ringing. Her brain hurts, like it is being eaten alive by an army of ants. 

But her body is fighting back. The pain slowly subsides. The ringing stops. The buzzing disappears.

She slowly opens her eyes.

Silence.

Elena stares at Hive and the inhumans across from her. She can sense that Lincoln next to her is doing the same.

Anticipation.

Finally, Daisy breaks out of the half-circle and rushes over to Lincoln, an excited smile on her face.

_It worked!_ Lincoln thinks. _They think we’re one of them!_

Just as Daisy is about to throw her arms around Lincoln, Hive’s voice can be heard.

“They are not who we thought they were.”

He says it quietly, and yet his words are deafening. A hint of anger. The tone of his voice sends shivers down Lincoln’s spine. 

He glances over at Elena who sends a quick look back at him. They’ve been made.

Daisy takes a step back. “Lincoln? What’s going on?”

He looks back at her. “You have to be stopped.”

He reaches out and briefly grabs her arm. 

“I’m sorry, Daisy,” he mumbles quietly as the glove Fitz designed injects the antidote/dendrotoxin mixture into her bloodstream. 

Her eyes open wide as she realizes that he has weakened her, drugged her. Then she closes her eyes and falls to the floor.

The other inhumans had only been staring at the scene up to that point. Unable to move. Frozen in confusion and horror. As Daisy’s limp body drops to the ground, their anger awakens.

_¡Hagámoslo!_ Elena thinks and takes a deep breath.

Lincoln can feel the slight gust of wind that Elena causes as she begins to slingshot from her original position to the individual inhumans. 

Hellfire is the first one to drop to the ground. Unconscious.

Elena reappears at her starting point; a grin on her face. Confidently she glances at the other inhumans, whose movements once again have frozen in mid-action, trying to figure out what just happened. 

_¿Quién es el siguiente?_

She slingshots again. A second inhuman falls to the ground.

The confusion among the inhumans turns into rage as they activate their powers to try and defeat Elena, but Lincoln jumps in, charges, attacks, interferes, diverts.

One by one, Hive’s army drops to the ground.

With every fallen soldier, Hive’s face grows darker, angrier. Yet he doesn’t move. Doesn’t interfere.

The last inhuman soldier falls to the ground. 

Elena slingshots back into her original position. Barely out of breath. 

Lincoln is standing next to her. A few sparks still sizzling around his fingertips.

Hive glares at them. His eyes are fiery. He opens his mouth. A millennium worth of anger channels into a single scream. A sound so deep, dark, raging, and out-of-this-world it makes every hair on Lincoln’s body stand on edge.

Ward’s pretty-boy face transforms to that of an ugly monster; tentacles framing his skull. Hive’s true self. Unable to keep up his façade.

Lincoln hears Elena’s voice, sees her staring back at Hive, unwavering: “ _No te tengo miedo._ I am not afraid of you!”

_That’s one of us,_ Lincoln thinks.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What's Hive gonna do?

Hive is furious, raging, but he doesn’t move, doesn’t attack.

Slowly it dawns on Lincoln. Fitz and Simmons were right. It’s not that Hive doesn’t _want_ to kill inhumans, he just _can’t_ , _actually_ can’t. 

A confident smile appears on Lincoln’s face. He send an electric lightning bolt towards Hive, “This one’s for Daisy!” 

Hive lets out another earth-shattering roar, and drops to his knees. He’s breathing heavily, like a bull gathering strength for an attack. 

Except he doesn’t attack. Doesn’t get back up. He’s alone against two opponents whom he cannot kill.

_You’re supposed to be the most powerful inhuman of them all; powerful enough to kill a room full of humans within seconds and here you are powerless and with no idea how to defeat the two of us. Almost ironic._ Lincoln thinks.

“Lincoln!” Elena tries to get his attention, “Stop teasing him. We need to contain everyone before the dendrotoxin wears off. Just because they are no longer under Hive’s spell doesn’t mean that they will automatically be on our side.”

Lincoln takes off the backpack he’s been wearing and puts it on the ground, never leaving his eyes off Hive, who is breathing heavily.

Elena rolls her eyes as she realizes that Lincoln has decided to just play watchdog. 

_Gracias por la ayuda, idiota,_ she thinks as she walks to the backpack, opens it, and pulls out the landing sensors for the containment units.

Sarcastically she mumbles: “No, no, don’t worry, Lincoln, I can do it! You just stand there.”

She grabs four of the sensors and slingshots to set up a trap around Hive. 

She looks up at the sky, puts her hand on the comm device in her ear and says “Your turn!”

A containment unit soars down and captures Hive. It doesn’t return to the Zephyr.

_'Cause that would be risky and… well… bloody stupid,_ Elena remembers Fitz’s words from the briefing and smiles.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clean-up

The mighty airplane de-cloaks as it slowly descends and lands on the ground. Its ramp opens. 

Coulson struts down the ramp. “Fitz, Simmons, make sure you…” 

“Adjust the containment units to the individual inhumans’ powers as quickly as possible.” Fitz says as he passes Coulson, a tablet in hand with a list of the data they had gathered about each inhuman’s power.

“Yes, Sir! Already on it.” Simmons adds as she hands a pad with specifications for one of the containment units to Agent Franklin, who grabs it and begins making modifications to the pod.

“Great,” Coulson continues, “Everyone else: Two people on watch for every inhuman. They so much as move an eyelash, you ice them again! They have to stay unconscious until everyone is contained! May, Mack…”

“We take Daisy,” May passes Coulson with fast steps, icer in hand. Mack’s right behind her.

“…you take Daisy.” Coulson manages to finish his sentence. 

He briefly stops in his tracks then takes a couple of steps back up the ramp.

“If anyone needs me, I’ll just be over here … blending in with the rest of the unneeded equipment. … Not that anyone is listening.”

But he can’t quite hide the hint of a proud smile. 

They are S.H.I.E.L.D., _the_ shield, and they’re good.


	15. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath.

Coulson sits in his office. The lights are turned off. A half-empty glass in his hand and a half-empty bottle of scotch in front of him. It has become an almost normal sight in the past three months. 

_Scotch? Why scotch? Why do I do this to myself?_

He knows why.

It shouldn’t have happened. It didn’t make sense.

Everything had gone according to plan. Or, well, according to Plan B at least: Hive realizes Elena and Lincoln are not actually swayed but they still manage to overpower him.

It had worked. They had won the battle; maybe even the war.

They had found a cure for Daisy and the other inhumans. Maybe they hadn’t found a way to actually defeat Hive, but they had taken his army from him. They had taken the ability to sway inhumans from him. They had captured him and locked him away in the deepest darkest dungeon deep deep down.

_Stop with the alliteration, Coulson,_ he thinks to himself as he takes another sip. 

The scotch leaves a burning sensation in his throat.

_Burning._

He stares at nothing in particular, into nothingness, emptiness, just the empty space in his office.

_Space._

He shakes his head trying to rid himself from the memories.

But his mind won’t let him. They haunt him. The images from the video feed. 

Two lifeless human figures, covered in crackling black shells. 

One in the pilot seat. Only his back visible. 

The other one facing the camera. His face—covered in black—a look of shock and horror. 

Then an explosion. 

The two shells breaking up into a million pieces that rush toward the camera. 

Then the transmission breaks off.

How had it happened?

It shouldn’t have happened. It didn’t make sense.

Coulson had insisted that they destroy the rest of the terrigen crystals. 

“Shoot the damn things into space,” he had said. 

Not everyone had agreed with him, but _dammit,_ he was the director.

Fitz argued that an unmanned rocket would be too risky. If anything went wrong, the terrigen would spread uncontrollably. 

_You can take fish oil capsules off the shelves,_ he had said, _but you can’t really do that with the atmosphere, can you now?_

Fitz suggested sending a quinjet with a small team: a pilot and … well… himself, to release the contained crystals into space. Everything under control. No one at risk. 

His argument was solid. His plan was solid.

How had it happened? What had gone wrong?

They still hadn’t figured it out exactly.

But it had gone wrong. So terribly wrong.

It didn’t make sense. Everything had gone according to plan. They had defeated Hive. This was just the aftermath, the clean-up. It should have been easy.

Coulson takes another sip.

_The scotch burns._

He stares into nothingness.

\-------------------------

His office door flings open. Daisy and Mack rush inside. They exchange knowing looks as they see the bottle of scotch on Coulson’s desk. Mack turns on the lights. Coulson’s eyes close, squint at the sudden sensation of light rushing in. He jumps up and forcefully puts down his glass.

“What the fuck?” he shouts, “This is my office! Don’t you at least knock?”

They ignore his words and the slurred, drunk sound of his voice. The past three months have been rough on all of them, but Coulson had taken Fitz’s and Agent Walter’s deaths particularly hard. They knew he felt guilty for okaying the mission, even though nobody else blamed him. Fitz’s plan had been solid. No sign of risk. The guilt had been eating on him, wearing him down. Not even May got through to him.

“Someone triggered an alarm in one of our safe houses,” Mack says.

“So what?” Coulson spews out. “Send a team to check on the situation. It’s fucking protocol!”

Mack and Daisy exchange looks. 

“No, Sir. You _have_ to see this!” she says and touches the tablet she has been carrying, to transfer the image to the big screen.

_Just leave! Why don’t you just leave? Leave me alone,_ Coulson thinks.

But he looks up.

His heart seems to stop beating. Or is it racing? He can’t tell. 

He’s holding his breath.

He stares at the screen, at the image from the surveillance camera, at the familiar face.

“That’s impossible,” is all he can say.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This epilogue is the start-off point for a new fanfic. Stay tuned for more!


End file.
